(A) Purpose. Conditional uses are those uses that, because of their potential adverse impact upon the immediate neighborhood and the City, as a whole, require a greater degree of scrutiny and review of site characteristics and impacts to determine their suitability in a given location. As such, the determination of conditional uses as appropriate shall be contingent upon their meeting a set of specific standards and the weighing, in each case, of the public need and benefit against the local impact, giving effect to the proposals of the applicant for ameliorating adverse impacts through special site planning and development techniques and contributions to the provisions of public improvements, sites, right-of-way and services.
(B) Authority. The Board of Zoning Appeals may, in accordance with the procedures and standards set forth in this section and other regulations applicable to the district in which the subject property is located, approve by ordinance, uses listed as conditional uses within each zoning district.
(C) Parties Entitled to Seek Conditional Use. An application for a Conditional Use Permit may be filed with the Director of Planning and Development or his or her designee by the owner or lessee of the subject property or other person having a legal or equitable interest in the subject property.
(D) Procedure for Review and Decision.
(1) Application. Applications for a Conditional Use Permit shall be filed in accordance with the requirements of § 159.040.
(2) Action by Director of Planning and Development or his or her designee.
(a) Upon receipt of a properly completed application for a Conditional Use Permit, the Director of Planning and Development or his or her designee shall forthwith transmit to the Technical Advisory Committee for its review subject to § 159.041.
(b) The report and recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee shall be submitted in writing from the Director to the Board of Zoning Appeals for its review.
(4) Action by Board of Zoning Appeals. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall take action in accordance with IC 36-7-4 et seq., with particular attention to the 900 series of said statute as the same may be amended.
(5) Judicial Review. Final decisions of the Board of Zoning Appeals are subject to judicial review as provided by applicable law. (See, e.g., IC 36-7-4-1600 et seq.).
(E) Standards for Conditional Uses. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall review the particular facts and circumstances of each proposed conditional use in terms of the following standards and shall find adequate evidence showing that such use at the proposed location:
(1) Is in fact a conditional use established within the specific zoning district involved;
(2) Will be harmonious with and in accordance with the general objectives or with any specific objective of the City's Comprehensive Plan and this chapter;
(3) Will be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained so as to be harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and will not change the essential character of the same area;
(4) Will not be hazardous or disturbing to existing neighboring uses;
(5) Will be served adequately by essential public facilities and services such as highways, streets, police and fire protection, drainage structures, refuse disposal, water and sewer, and schools; or that the persons or agencies responsible for the establishment of the proposed use shall be able to provide adequately any such services;
(6) Will not create excessive additional requirements at public expense for public facilities and services and will not be detrimental to the economic welfare of the community;
(7) Will not involve uses, activities, processes, materials, equipment and conditions of operation that will be detrimental to any persons, property, or the general welfare by reason of excessive production of traffic, noise, smoke, fumes, glare or odors;
(8) Will have vehicular approaches to the property which shall be so designed as not to create an interference with traffic on surrounding public thoroughfares; and
(9) Will not result in the destruction, loss, or damage of a natural, scenic, or historic feature of major importance.
(F) Supplementary Conditions And Safeguards. In granting any Conditional Use Permit, the Board of Zoning Appeals may prescribe conditions and limitations concerning use, construction, character, location, landscaping, screening, parking and other matters relating to the purposes and objectives of this chapter upon the premises benefited by a conditional use as may be necessary or appropriate to prevent or minimize adverse effects upon other property and improvements in the vicinity of the subject property or upon public facilities and services. However, such conditions shall not be used as a device to authorize as a conditional use that which is intended to be temporary in nature. Such conditions shall be expressly set forth in the ordinance granting the Conditional Use Permit. Any conditions prescribed by the Board of Zoning Appeals must be recorded by the applicant as a supplement to the deed for the property, in the Hamilton County Recorder's office. Violation of any such condition or limitation shall be a violation of this chapter and shall constitute grounds for revocation of the conditional use permit pursuant to §§ 159.240 through 159.248 and 159.999
(G) No Presumption of Approval. The listing of a conditional use within each zoning district does not constitute an assurance or presumption that such conditional use will be approved. Rather, each proposed conditional use shall be evaluated on an individual basis, in relation to its compliance with the standards and conditions set forth in § 159.041, and with the standards for the district in which it is located, in order to determine whether approval of the conditional use is appropriate at the particular location and in the particular manner proposed.
(H) Limitations on Conditional Uses.
(1) Subject to an extension of time granted by the Director of Planning and Development, no Conditional Use Permit shall be valid for a period longer than one year unless a building permit is issued and construction is actually begun within that period and is thereafter diligently pursued to completion, or unless a certificate of occupancy is issued and a use commenced within that period or unless a longer time is requested and granted by the Common Council.
(2) The approval of a proposed Conditional Use Permit by the Board of Zoning Appeals shall be deemed to authorize only that particular use at that particular location for which the conditional use was issued.
(3) Except when otherwise provided in the ordinance for approving a conditional use, a conditional use shall be deemed to relate to, and be for the benefit of the use and lot in question, rather than the owner or operator of such use or lot.
(I) Effect of Approval. The approval of a proposed Conditional Use Permit by the Board of Zoning Appeals shall not authorize the development, construction, reconstruction, alteration or moving of any building or structure, but shall merely authorize the preparation, filing and processing of applications for such permits or approvals as may be required by the regulations of the City, including but not limited to a building permit and a certificate of occupancy.
(J) Amendment to Approved Conditional Use Development Plans. The holder of an Improvement Location Permit for a conditional use may apply to the Board of Zoning Appeals at any time for an alteration, change, amendment, or extension of the Conditional Use of Development Plan upon which such permit was based.
(1) Upon receipt of such application, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall proceed as in the case of original applications for an Improvement Location Permit for a conditional use.
(2) In the event the Board of Zoning Appeals shall approve and order such applications or Development Plan changed, altered, amended, or extended, it shall notify the Director of Planning and Development who shall issue an amended Improvement Location Permit accordingly.
(3) Any alteration, change or amendment to a site plan (previously approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals through the conditional use process) and involving a new structure, combination of structures, or addition to an existing structure, may be approved by the Director of Planning and Development, who may issue an Improvement Location Permit without the requirement of a public hearing or Board of Zoning Appeals approval provided that:
(a) The net increase in floor area is less than 10,000 square feet but not to exceed 50% of the gross floor area of structures on the parcel;
(b) That the plans for the proposed use be submitted to and reviewed by the Technical Advisory Committee according to the schedule of filing deadlines established by the Director of Planning and Development;
(c) That the plans be revised to incorporate any recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee that the Director of Planning and Development deems appropriate; and
(d) That the property of the proposed use does not fall within 100 feet of the property line of an existing residential land use or platted residential subdivision.
(K) Temporary Zoning Certificates for Staged Development. Whenever a Conditional Use Permit has been approved and is of such a nature that the applicant desires to complete the structures and improvements shown in the Conditional Use Development Plan by stages, the applicant may make application for a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy for any portion of the Plan that has been completed.
(Ord. 62-12-95, passed 1-22-96; Am. Ord. 56-11-07, passed 12-11-07; Am. Ord. 32-07-19, passed 7-23-19; Am. Ord. 44-10-23, passed 11-14-23)